Stranger Things Season 4 Needs Fear Street’s Darker Edge

screenrant.com:

Stranger Things season 4 should follow in the footsteps of fellow Netflix retro horror Fear Streetand up the edginess of the series. WhenStranger Things debuted in 2016, the series was an instant word-of-mouth hit for streaming service Netflix and its creators the Duffer Brothers. Despite some seriously dark moments in the show’s first season, it is easy to see why Stranger Things had massive mainstream appeal.

Stranger Things combined sci-fi horror with nostalgic coming-of-age dramedy in its story of a group of misfit kids from a small town accidentally uncovering a government conspiracy and attempting to escape an inter-dimensional monster. Add in an adorable but surprisingly powerful telekinetic kid heroine, and Stranger Things was all but guaranteed to be a success. However, despite all its flashier elements, Stranger Things season 1 took inspiration from the dark kidnapping drama Prisoners, and the show’s early episodes were often brutal and bleak.

Related: Stranger Things Fans are Focused On The Wrong Season 4 Trailer

After all, Stranger Things takes place in small-town America during the ‘80s, and its location of Hawkins, Indiana is home to many shuttered shopfronts, closed-down factories, and other signifiers of Reagan-era economic hardship. Stranger Things season 1 did not shy away from the darker side of the decade and the show’s tone reflected this, with innocent characters often being butchered in early episodes. However, with Stranger Things season 3, the show’s tone took a swift shift into broad comedy territory, and despite a rising body count, the series started taking things much less seriously. A plethora of goofy subplots soon became the weak point of Stranger Things season 3, which is why the series